Circle-iron for wagons



(No Model.)

N. L. HOLMES. CIRCLE IRON FOR WAGONS'.

Patented Aug. 11 1885..

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Marne 5 IL PETERS, PholwLilhvgraphor. Walhlnghm. D. C,

Nrrnn TATES ATFNT tries.

NATHAN L. HOLMES, OF RAOINE, XVISCONSIN.

CIRCLE-=lRGN FUR \NAGONS- :BPECIE'ICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 323,93, dated August. 11, 1885.

Application filed November 24. 1884.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHAN L. HOLMES, of Racine, in the county of Racine and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Circle-Irons for \Vag ons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved. construction in circle-irons for wagons; and it consists in the matters hereinafter described,andpointed out in the claims.

The principal point of difference between the circle irons shown as illustrating my invention and the constructions heretofore used is that the circle, instead of being made ofone continuous rod or bar, is formed of three separate pieces, and comprises two side pieces connected at their front ends with the hounds and attached at their rear ends to two circleposts located in the usual position upon the .hounds, and a third rear. piece extending transversely between the posts and attached at its ends to the latter. Preferred forms of construction in the circle-posts, whereby the bars composing the circle may be firmly attached thereto and readily detached for removal or repairs,are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and herein claimed, and improved devices are also herein shown and claimed for attaching the forward ends of the circle to the hounds, as will hereinafter ap 5 and 6 are perspective views showing a cap used in securing the parts of the circle to the circle-post and the main part of the post separated from each other. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a device forming part of this invention for securing the forward ends of the circle-iron to the hounds. Fig. 8 is a central vertical section of the same.

(So model.)

A A are the axle-hounds, which, as herein illustrated, are connected at their rear ends by a straight sway-bar, A. B is the circle, which is preferably square in cross-section; and C G are posts, which support the rear portion ofthe circle-iron from the hounds,and which are located at or near the points at which the curved portions of the circle intersect the hounds.

D D are vertical bolts, which pass through axial apertures c in the posts, and by which said posts are secured to the hounds; and E E are castings used for attaching the forward ends of the circle-iron to the hounds, as will be hereinafter described.

The circle B, instead of being made of a continuous piece or bar of iron bent into a curved form, is made up of three separate pieces or sections, B B B, the pieces 13 forming the side portions of the circle extending from the front ends of the circle to the posts 0 O,-and the part B the rear portion of the circle extending between the said posts. The said part B is,as shown, made straight between its points of attachment to the posts, but it may obviously be curved to give the usual circular continuous curve to the circle, ifdesired.

For the rigid and secure attachment of the adjacent ends of the parts B and B of the circle to the posts, means are herein provided as follows: Upon the upper ends of each of the said posts are cast two flanges or wings, a, of approximately the same width as the square bar composing the circle, which are arranged at right angles with each other, and with their upper surfaces in a horizontal plane, and a separate top piece or cap, 0, is provided, having depending flanges or wings 0, adapted to fit at the side margins of the wings 0, so as to form with said wings recesses Cflto receive the ends of the said parts B and B of the circle. The cap G is held upon the post by the bolt D, which passes through a suitable boltaperture, 0, therein, and by which the said cap maybe drawn downwardly,so as to clamp the ends of the circle firmly in the recesses O. The post 0 is preferably extended upwardly above the plane of the wings c in the form of a projection, G", which is located at the side of the post opposite that upon which said wings are attached. The outer surface of said projection is, as shown, concentric with the aperture 0 of the post, and extends through a halfcircle, and its inner surface is preferably formed by two flat faces arranged at right angles and adapted to fit against the sides of a squared portion, d, adjacent to the head D of the bolt, as seen in Figs. 4, 5, and 6. The outer flanges, c, of the cap 0 are, as shown, connected at their ends adjacent to the aperture c by means of a curved part or flange, 0, extending around the projection C. The opposite flanges, 6-, are, as shown, preferably connected at their inner ends by cross flanges or walls e", located at right angles with each other and arranged to fit against the opposing sides of the square part (I of the bolt 1), when the parts are placed together, as more clearly shown in Figs. 3 and at. The bolt-aperture c" of the cap is preferably of square form, and the inner surfaces of the flanges c are made flush with two sides of said aperture, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and (5. By this construction it is obvious that when the parts are placed together the upper parts of the post, the bolt, and the cap will tit snugly and closely together, and liability of their coming loose by jarring or wear thereby greatly lessened.

To still more lirml y secure the parts from displacement, the outer curved surface of the projection C" is preferably made tapering upward or conical, and the inner surface of the flange 0 of corresponding shape, so that when the cap is forced down upon the ends of the bars 13 and B by the tightening of the bolt the upper part of the bolt will be clamped between the inner faces of the said projection and the opposing parts of the cap.

The post and cap are usually made of malleable iron, and the parts of the post and cap are fitted closely to each other and to the ends of the circle-bars. In placing the parts together they are driven forcibly to place, so as to make the junction between the parts perfectly rigid, and to prevent possibility of their afterward becoming loose; this mode of procedure being rendered possible without breakage by the use of malleable iron for the post and cap, as above mentioned.

The flanges c of the cap 0 are preferably provided upon their inner faces with vertical ribs or projections 0", adapted to engage corresponding notches, b, in the side faces of the bars 13 and B, near the end of the latter, so as to effectually prevent the said bars from being drawn endwise out of the recesses 0 The ribs 0 are preferably of half-round shape, and the notches I) are conveniently formed of semicircular shape by clamping the end portions of the bars side by side and drilling a circular aperture half in each at their line of contact.

It is obviously immaterial that the side walls of the recesses 0 should be formed entirely by flanges 0* upon the cap 0, and the same effect of clamping and holding the ends of the circle-bars may be obtained by a construction in which the said side walls are formed entirely upon the wings c of the post, or partially upon the said wings and partially upon the post. The cross-flanges a, uniting the flanges c at their inner ends, are obviously not essential, and may be dispensed with, the upper end of the bolt in such case being clamped between the projection O and the edges of the apertures c" opposite thereto.

The use of said crossflanges is, however, usually preferred, both to give an extended bearingsurface for the upper part of the bolt, and to hold the side flanges of the cap from being wedged apart or forced outwardly when the cap is driven down upon the ends of the circlebars. The presence of the said cross-flanges also is found to be advantageous in placing the parts together, for the reason that in case the ends of the circle-bars are slightly too long or are cut with ragged edges, which would in terfere with the insertion ofthe bolt, the bars will be prevented by the said cross-flanges from entering the cap unless they are cut to the proper length, so that after the bars have been entered into the recesses the parts will always go together without especial care on the part of the workman. The squared upper end, (I, of the bolt D is for the purpose of holding the bolt from rotation in tightening the nut (1' upon its lower end. Such squared part is not essential, however, and the bolt maybe of cylindric form throughout its entire length, the adjacent faces of the projection 0, and of the opposing parts of the cap, in case the latter construction is used, also preferably being of cylindric.shape, and the apertures a circular.

As an improved means of attaching the forward ends of the circle-bars B to the hounds, the end portions of the latter are bent downwardly and inserted in a vertical aperture, 0, in castings E, which are bolted or otherwise secured to the upper surface of the hounds. The said aperture is, as shown, enlarged or countersunk at its lower end, as indicated at e, and the bar is secured in the casting by heading or upsetting its end, as shown, the casting being held from slipping upwardly over the bar by the curved form thereof.

As heretofore usually constructed, the front ends of the circle-bar have been bent downward and flattened to form forwardly-projecting straps, which are placed against the bounds, and are secured to the latter by suitable bolts. As herein shown, the castings E are provided with forwardly-prejecting parts E, both to aftbrd a more secure attachment of the circle to the hound, and also to preserve the customary appearance to the eye of the parts.

In the construction heretofore commonly used the circle has been forged in two pieces, the front ends of which are suitably shaped for attachment to the hounds, and after the posts 01' their eyebolts have been slipped over their rear ends the said ends are welded to gether. In an application filed by me upon the 17th day of May, .1884, also a circle is ICC shown which is made of a continuous curved bar of iron, which is upheld at its rear portion by two apertured posts, which, in attaching theparts, are slipped over its front ends, the circle being attached to the hounds at its front ends also by posts, to which said ends are clamped. The improved construction herein set forth possesses advantages over pre vious constructions above mentioned, for the reason that no welding or forging is required, and that the relatively short pieces of bar-iron may be used to form the circle. The parts of the circle, made as herein shown, also may obviously be removed without disturbing the other parts, and straightened in case they are bent, or replaced by new ones if broken or worn.

The means herein shown for attaching the front ends of the circle to the bounds possesses the obvious advantage of obviating the necessity for shaping the ends by forging, as has been usual heretofore, and of being much cheaper than the posts shown in the application above referred to.

The construct-ion of the circle in which the latter is composed of three parts united by the supportingposts, possesses important advantages, aside from theparticular means shown, for attaching the bars to the said posts, and my invention as set forth in the accompanying claims is not, therefore, limited to the particular construction of the holding devices upon the posts herein illustrated, except in the claims, in which such construction is specifically set forth. The form of the clamping device illustrated in the application above referred to as having been made by me, in which the circle-bars are inserted in recesses formedby movable caps, which are permanently attached to the posts, may, for instance, be used for securing the ends of the circle-bars to the said parts instead of that herein shown, in which the said caps are removable.

In the location of the recesses O of the posts 0 at right angles with each other, as shown, it obviously becomes necessary to bend the rear ends of the curved side bars, B, outwardly, so as to properly enter the said recesses, and in case the rear bar, B", is also made of curved form the ends of said bar would have to be correspondingly bent. Instead of this construction, the said recesses may obviously be arranged at an obtuse angle, so that the side pieces may enter the said recesses without being bent outwardly, and in case the transverse bar B is outwardly curved the recesses may be arranged opposite or nearly opposite each other. whereby the curve of the circle will appear to be continuous, or nearly so.

As far as the general features of the invention are concerned, it is obviously not essential that the upper ends of the bolts D should be located between the ends of the circle-iron bars, or that the posts Oshould bear the same lateral relation to the cap 0 and recesses C as is herein illustrated, and my invention is not therefore limited to the particular construction and location shown of the parts mentioned, except as herein specifically claimed.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with the hounds of a wagon, of two cirele-posts for supporting the rear part of the circle from the hounds, and a circle comprising two side bars connected at their front ends with the hounds and at their rear ends with the said post-s, and a transverse bar attached at its ends to the said posts, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the hounds and a circle made in two or more parts, of a circlepost provided with a longitudinal bolt-aperture and with recesses to receive the adjacent ends of the parts of the circle, a bolt, and a vertically-movable cap located over said recesses and apertured to give passage to the bolt, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the hounds, of a circle made in two or more parts and a circlepost provided with a longitudinal bolt aperture and with wings a, and a cap, 0, provided with depending flanges 0, adapted to form, with the said wings, recesses to receive the ends of the parts of the circle, and with an aperture to give passage to the bolt, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the hounds, a circle, and a holding-bolt, of a circle-post provided with a longitudinal bolt-aperture and a vertically-movable cap provided with an aperture to give passage to the bolt, the post being provided with an upwardly-projecting part, 0 adjacent to the bolt-aperture, adapted to engage a corresponding recess in the cap, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination, with the hounds, a circle. and a holding-bolt, of a circle-post provided with a longitudinal bolt-aperture and a vertically-movable cap provided with an aperture to give passage to the bolt, the said post being provided with a projecting part, 0, at one side of the bolt-aperture, having an inclined outer surface adapted to operate in connection with a correspondingly-inclined surface upon the cap, whereby the upper end of the bolt is clamped between the said projection and the opposing surface of the cap when the parts are placed together, substantially as described.

6. The combination of the'hound, a circleiron provided with a notch, b, a circle-post provided with a vertical bolt-aperture, and with a recess having a vertical rib, 0 upon its side wall adapted for engagement with the notch b, a bolt, and a vertically-movable caplocated over said recess and apertured to give passage to the bolt, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination, with the hounds, circle, and a holding-bolt, of a post having a longitudinal bolt-apertu re, and provided with wings c and an upwardly-projecting part, 0 at one side of the bolt-aperture, and a cap, 0, apertured to receive the bolt, and provided with a part or flange. 0, extending around the projection substantially as and 1'01 the pur pose set forth.

8. The combination, withthehonnds, circle, and a holdingholt, of a post with alongitudinal holtaperi ore and provided with wings w, and a cap, 0, provided with depending flanges c" and cross-flanges c", uniting the opposite flanges, c, at their inner ends, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. The combination, with the hounds and a circle having its forward ends bent downwardly, of means for attaching the ends oi the circle to the hounds. consisting of cnstil'igs E, each having a vertical aperture adapted to receive the downwardly-bent end portion of the circle, said aperture being enlarged at its lower portion, an d the ci rel e end secured therein by riveting", substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

l w l l ()mvnn E. PAGIN. 

